The third studio release by Giuliano Palma & the Bluebeaters offers another generous serving of rock, soul, and pop covers, set to a rocksteady beat. Backed up by a relentlessly swinging band made up of seasoned pros ostensibly having a jolly good time together, Palma pours and croons his obvious enthusiasm for the material over 17 tracks. Just as the Bluebeaters approach remains the same, their taste remains equally eclectic, ranging from more or less expected choices such as the Coasters, Lord Creator, or Stray Cats to Kiss, Peter Frampton, Aztec Camera, 1980s Spanish pop combo La Unión, or Italian romantic singer Iva Zannichi. For a band so steeped in retro revival, it seems only fitting that Boogaloo’s big hit turned out to be a cover of a cover, Equipe 84′s “Tutta Mia la Città,” an Italian version of the Move’s “Blackberry Way.” Boogaloo also includes the first Giuliano Palma & the Bluebeaters original to date, “The Marvin Boogaloo.” Unsurprisingly, it aptly sums up what this album or any of the other Bluebeaters albums are: a fun and faultless exercise in nostalgia. – Mariano Prunes
more »